South Broadway committee presents recommendations to Saratoga Springs City Council

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The Gateway Action Plan of Saratoga Committee presented its final report to the City Council Tuesday night, discussing how the city could improve development on South Broadway.

City Supervisor Matthew Veitch and Accounts Commissioner John Franck remember when South Broadway was a bustling part of the city with development that even downtown envied. After the downtown district, West Avenue and other parts of the city underwent a "renaissance," though, Franck said South Broadway was left behind.

Franck's and Veitch's nostalgia didn't stop at talk -- earlier this year the two formed the GAPS Committee with the purpose of seeing why South Broadway has languished.

Tuesday, the two presented the committee's findings and recommendations for how City Hall could spur development, particularly in the northern section of South Broadway between Lincoln Avenue and West Fenlon Street.

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"It has no real identity," Veitch said in his presentation. "There is no characteristic that identifies this area."

While the report points out that the city's Comprehensive Plan and zoning "convey an exciting vision of the future" for that area, "progress toward the realization of that vision has been slow."

Veitch said the cost of implementing the plan often fell to landowners, and while other sections of the city, such as the downtown district, receive tax incentives for development, nothing like that exists for South Broadway.

In addition, existing conditions on the road, such as vacant buildings that do not conform to present zoning standards and above-ground utility lines, give the area "an industrial style."

"We have an area with a lot of potential," Veitch said, pointing out that the vacant land and usable buildings make the area ripe for development. The economic downturn, though, combined with the area often being overlooked by developers, has left South Broadway neglected.

The committee recommended several different approaches to improving the gateway to the city, including developing a marketing strategy that seeks out development that would suit the road.

In addition, the committee recommends extending tax incentives that exist on North Broadway to South Broadway, as well as zoning the area to promote more green space, given its proximity to Sartoga Spa State Park. If it was rezoned, it could be promoted as a "park district" with pocket parks and civic spaces.

The group also recommends that the city streamline the approval process for developers.

Overall, the committee suggests that the city improve the district's "walkability," particularly in the section beyond the northern end of the district, which was the panel's main focus.

On the southern end of South Broadway, the group recommends looking at infrastructure needs and zoning changes to spur development.

Veitch said it makes sense to leave the "heavy lifting" of working out specifics to the Comprehensive Committee that Mayor Scott Johnson said will be formed before the end of the year.

Another group also presented its thoughts on how the city could improve development. Unlike the GAPS Committee, though, Sustainable Saratoga's Urban Forestry Project was focused on how the city can increase and improve its thousands of street trees.